60% water, sewer connections in Faridabad ‘unauthorised’

Bijendra Ahlawat

Faridabad, May 20

Around 60 per cent of the water and sewer connections in the city are reportedly unauthorised. Despite the loss of revenue on this account, the authorities have failed to effectively organise a drive to regularise these connections.

It is reported that the industrial city has about seven lakh residential and commercial units that are availing the water and sewerage facility. However, only 2.75 lakh of these units are registered.

A majority of these ‘illegal’ connections are reportedly found in slum clusters, densely populated colonies and villages located within the civic limits of the urban civic body.

It is claimed that private water supply mafia, enjoying political patronage, have been exploiting the water supply sources and network in the city. This has resulted in shortage or unavailability of water in many areas, especially during the summer. The city is getting between 300 and 325 MLD of water against a demand for 450 MLD, according to the authorities.

“The total revenue generated from such connections is reported to be around Rs 12 crore per year. But it has the potential to go up to Rs 40-50 crore, if all the connections were billed,” said an official on condition of anonymity.

The bulk supply of drinking water from Ranney wells was handed over to the Faridabad Metro Development Authority (FMDA), which came up in 2021-22. The piped supply is maintained by the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF).

The civic authorities had proposed tough measures —including lodging FIRs against offenders — and announced a drive to regularise illegal connections a few years ago. However, the move failed to pick momentum due to various reasons — including the lack of ownership details and the shortage of field staff to undertake a survey or disconnect unauthorised connections. At least 30 per cent of the property IDs that were uploaded online in the recent past need to be rectified, according to sources.

It is revealed that the number of unauthorised water and sewerage connections has kept growing due to alleged irregularities in updating record, despite action initiated against hundreds of connections so far.

Admitting that the problem of unauthorised connections in the city is quite grave, senior MCF official Ombir Singh said the drive to regularise unauthorised connections was underway. “Several thousand connections had been regularised in the past three years,” added Ombir Singh.

Estimated Rs 28 crore lost in revenue

• Private water supply mafia have been exploiting the water supply sources and network in the city, leading to water shortage in many areas.
• Faridabad is getting a supply of 300-325 MLD (millions of litres per day) water against a demand for 450 MLD.
• “The annual revenue generated from water and sewer connections is around Rs 12 crore. But it can go up to Rs 40-50 crore, if all the connections were billed,” said an official on condition of anonymity.